ABOVE: Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney practices different snap counts with his defense during Wednesday afternoon’s practice on the Fairmont High school campus.

FAIRMONT – Last Friday night the Fairmont High School football team dropped to Albert Lea in a 29-24 back-and-forth affair. While fans on both sides were able to see two great teams battle it out on the gridiron, the loss remains the same.

The Cardinals are now 3-2 on the season, dropping two of its last three games and sitting in fourth place of the Southeast Central District, Red Subdistrict standings behind Albert Lea, Waseca, and St. Peter.

However, head coach Mat Mahoney and his team haven’t changed their mindset one bit, continuing to focus on improving one day at a time before postseason play begins later this month.

“At the end of the day, we are about five plays away from being 5-0,” Mahoney said. “And again, we have just not played our best football. Once we play four quarters of Fairmont, it’s going to be fun to watch, but we got to get there. But we are close, we are really close.”

There are also some positive aspects to take away from the latest loss, one of them being the team’s response to adversity throughout the night.

Whether it was the heroics of quarterback Joe Long with his best performance of the season, 285 total yards with two rushing touchdowns, or a handful of key defensive stops to keep the Cardinals in the game, Mahoney’s team showed resiliency through the final whistle.

Now, the goal for Fairmont is to take away these positives as something to build off. Using every physical and mental repetition either at practice or in-game to slowly and steadily improve as the season goes on. So far this week, the team has kept a positive manner.

“We have to be relentless,” Mahoney said. “Right now, we have some adversity, but we are not going to break, and we just have to play some tough football… The thing I appreciate the most out of the guys is that they are taking this personally. They are disappointed and sad that they are 3-2, but we are going to be just fine.”

This Friday’s contest against Belle Plaine will be a great measuring stick to see how Mahoney’s team can respond after receiving a handful of close losses over the past three weeks. The Tigers enter the week with a 2-3 record, picking up wins over Tri-City United and New Ulm, respectively.

Offensively, the first thing Mahoney noticed was the improved line play with the additions of right guard Walker Koepp and left tackle Ayden Volek. These two former fullbacks have made instant impacts on this side of the ball following their transition, giving the Tigers more strength and security in everything they run.

This has caused the entire offensive play style to shift. Belle Plaine head coach Dave Frisell is dialing up more passing plays for his sophomore quarterback Reed Creighton to handle.

A talented arm that saw playing time against Fairmont last season, Creighton will look for receivers Chaz Iovino, Joseph Petersen, and Mason Bungarden to move the ball over the field when given the opportunity.

Mahoney says while this team is pass-heavy, his defense will need to look out for a slew of running backs, such as Boden Siegle, that the Tigers like to use given certain down and distance situations.

“Their offensive line has gotten better because of these two players, they have two really good players,” Mahoney said. “Now they are throwing the football more and then they will sprinkle in some run stuff.”

On the other side of the ball, Belle Plaine is highlighted again by Volek and Koepp, two defensive ends who complete the Tigers 4-2-5 scheme. These edge players are a part of a unit that Mahoney says plays well against the run, a key trait of Fairmont’s offensive success.

Friday night’s game will take place at Mahoney Field on the Fairmont High School campus, with kickoff set to begin at 7 p.m.